“Merry X-Mas”
There’s the story about a little boy who once noticed a huge red-and-green sign painted on the front of a department store, stating, “Merry X-mas.” In a hesitant voice, the child inquired of his dad, “Did they cross Christ out of Christmas, Daddy?” The father became silent for a moment; and then finally nodded, and replied, “Yes, Son. I guess they did.”
This story was created by someone wanting to make us aware of how the secular world is trying to stamp Christ out of Christmas. I agree that the world is trying to subvert the true meaning behind Christmas; however, the abbreviation X-mas originally had nothing to do with removing Christ from the picture.
Abbreviations used as Christian symbols have a long history in the church. The letters of the name “Christ” in the New Testament (koine) Greek were often used as symbols for Jesus. For example, the first two letters of the name “Christ” – which are the letters chi and rho – were used to create the chi-rho monogram that was used to represent Christ during the reign of the Roman Emperor Constantine.
Dennis Bratcher states, “By the fifteenth century, X-mas emerged as a widely used symbol for Christmas. In 1436, Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press with moveable type. In the early days of printing, typesetting was done by hand and was very tedious and expensive. As a result, abbreviations were common.” Bracther says that in religious publications, the church began to use the abbreviation X, or chi, for the word Christ, in order “to cut down on the cost of the books and pamphlets.”
X-mas is nothing to get upset about, because “X” has long been used as an abbreviation for Christ, even since the time of Constantine. The expression “Merry X-mas” is not the secular world’s attempt to remove Christ from Christmas; so don’t let it bother you so much! Whenever you hear someone utilize this expression, use it as an opportunity to share its history; which will, in turn, allow you to tell them about Jesus Christ.
“The Christmas Tree”
Many Christians object to allowing a Christmas tree within the sanctuary, because it supposedly represents a secular notion concerning the holiday. This objection has been around for quite some time. For example, there’s the story of a Cleveland minister who, back in 1851, nearly lost his position because he allowed a tree inside the church. Going back even further, in early New England, the Puritans banned the entire holiday of Christmas. Many believers are leery about the use of a Christmas tree; however, their fears may be all for naught.
David Robson shares the following historical insight: “Legend has it that Martin Luther began the tradition of decorating trees to celebrate Christmas. One Christmas Eve, about the year 1500, he was walking through snow-covered woods and was struck by the beauty of a group of small evergreens. Their branches, dusted with snow, shimmered in the moonlight. When he got home, he set up a little fir tree indoors so he could share this story with his children. He decorated it with candles, which he lighted in honor of Christ’s birth.”
Did you know the Christmas tree is said to be symbolic of our faith in Jesus Christ? The triangle shape is like an arrow pointing upward toward God. The color green represents the life we have obtained in Christ; and the fact that it is an “evergreen” tree, stands for our “eternal life” in Jesus. The needles of the tree grow upward like hands reaching high to praise God, and the lights symbolize the glory and splendor of heaven. The gifts beneath the tree represent how believers have received the greatest gift of all time: “The gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).
The Christmas tree doesn’t have to be treated as taboo and banned from our churches and homes. It can be a helpful visual aid and teaching resource, used to tell others about God’s plan of redemption in His Son, Jesus Christ.
“Santa Claus”
When I was a child, I often heard church members joke about Santa Claus, saying, “The letters in Santa can be arranged to spell Satan.” Santa is often viewed in a negative light by Christians. Some churches refuse to allow visits from Santa Claus, and some believers won’t allow gifts from Santa to be placed under the Christmas tree at home. But I must ask; is Santa really all that bad? In order to fully answer this question, we need to first ask: “Who was Santa Claus in history?”
The story of Santa Claus begins with Nicholas, who was born during the third century in the village of Patara; now located on the southern coast of Turkey. Nicholas was raised a devout Christian; however, his wealthy parents died in an epidemic while he was still young. Nicholas, determined to obey Jesus and sell all he had and give to the poor, used his entire inheritance to assist the needy, the sick, and the suffering. He dedicated his whole life to serving God, and was made Bishop of Myra while still a young man. Nicholas became known throughout the land for his generosity to those in need and his love for children.
Nicholas later became a celebrated saint of the Catholic Church, which is where we get the name St. Nicholas. On the website SouledOut.org, it is stated that “when Luther created the Protestant church, he realized it would be necessary to wean German children off of St. Nick, so he created Krist Kindle, the winged Christ cherub, who also flew and brought gifts to good children; but which instead focused the celebration around Christ. He came on Christmas Eve at Christ’s birthday.”
When Dutch sailors came to the New World and settled in the New York area, they would not give up their patron saint. Their nickname Santer Klause became the name we know as Santa Claus. The website SouledOut.org states, “Washington Irving gave the Dutch culture prominence in his ‘Knickerbocker Tales,’ which he wrote for the New York newspaper press. He mentioned St. Nicholas over two dozen times in his chronicle, and it is from these writings that the original story ‘A Visit from St. Nicholas,’ better known as ‘The Night before Christmas,’ was conceived.”
The website SouledOut.org continues to elaborate, “The poem [The Night before Christmas] came to Clement Clark one night before Christmas when he was riding in a horse and carriage through the snowy streets of New York City, and so went home and wrote it for his children. St. Nick came to be depicted as a jolly man in the more familiar red suit and white beard, and ‘Harper’s Weekly’ publisher Thomas Nast printed drawings that brought these images to the public.”
We can see that the truth behind the Christ-like servant Nicholas was shaped into one form after another over time, until his selflessness and unconditional love became perverted into a selfish expectation of receiving gifts. The commercialized Santa we have today is something which should be opposed; but at the same time, the notion of Santa Claus presents a wonderful opportunity to teach others how it is better to give than to receive; remembering that Jesus gave the ultimate gift when He died on the cross for our sins.